


and hey, you, don't you think it's kinda cute that i

by cassandralied



Category: Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cunnilingus, F/M, Ian Grimm's Hands, Narcissism, Poppy Li's Hand Kink, Pre-Canon, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, and then it gets resolved bc it's wish fulfilment city, and then not, it's a bit of a timeline is what i'm saying, it's not mentioned but ian is bi we all know this, it's not mentioned but poppy is also bi we all should know this, like wayyy post in that things are good and normal again in that no virus way, no major spoilers, poppy is tiny and i exploit that shamelessly, post quarantine ep, racheldana mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:20:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28921977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassandralied/pseuds/cassandralied
Summary: five times ian picks up poppytitle from Arms Tonite by Mother Mother
Relationships: Ian Grimm/Poppy Li
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	and hey, you, don't you think it's kinda cute that i

**Author's Note:**

> skip the fifth instance if you don't want to read the explicit part.

**i.**

The first time it happens, it’s nothing. A fluke.

Ian’s halfway through dazzling the conference room with an Inspirational Speech, one of his best — and yeah, maybe it’s a little more about him and his leadership skills, but whatever. A good leader = a good team, so they’re lucky they have him.

Anyway, Poppy’s one of the only other people standing, arms crossed, and directly in Ian’s way at that, so he picks her up by the waist, does _not_ think about how tiny and delicate she is, and sets her down on the other side of the display he’d been leading up to.

“Sorry, Pop,” he says quietly, just for her, and she glares. Just another day at Mythic Quest.

**ii.**

  
The second time (because god help her, she’s been keeping track) is in the office gym.

Ian’s got this idea in his head that learning kickboxing is going to improve teambuilding, make their synergy (which he pronounces “sign-uhr-gee” because of _course_ he does) better, and Poppy’s going along with it until the whim passes.

_(she’s working on picking her battles.)_

“Harder!” Ian encourages/nags, as Poppy bounces on the heels of her feet and swings at the black leather punching bag. Her fist connects, and it’s a little bit fun, despite Ian screeching in the background. Poppy swings again, misses.

“Come on, Pop! It’s not hard!” Ian says in that voice that means he thinks he’s being #motivational.

“Shut up!” Poppy snaps, embarrassed, and overextends herself on the next hit — she loses her balance and Ian manages to grab her right before she hits the floor.

And yeah, she’s still pissed at him, but _Jesus Christ_ are his arms huge. And warm. Incredibly warm. He holds her like they’re mid-dance and he’s dipping her, low to the ground, and they both stare blankly at each other. Their faces aren’t exactly romantic-comedy close, but they’re not that far apart either, and Ian might be a dickhead, but the thought of him dropping her doesn’t even cross Poppy’s mind.

“You good?” he asks finally, his voice a forced casual. Poppy replies with an irateness she doesn’t quite feel — or at least not for the right reason — “Will be when you put me down.”  
This shouldn’t rattle Ian as much as it seems to — he blanches, offers up an almost meek (for him, anyway) “Sorry, Pop”, and sets her back on her feet with a gentleness that might even be sincere.

**iii.**

  
The third time is in the mo-cap room.

Jo’s not available, and Ian really needs to get his idea juices flowing, so he ~~drags~~ encourages Poppy into the room with him.

Him lifting her up is just a scene for the new trailer — she’d agreed to it and everything — but she still inhales the tiniest bit when he scoops up her tiny frame, and her eyes in his go wide and very round. It’s not like the first time he’s noticed Poppy’s huge Bambi eyes, but he’s sure noticing again right now.

Ian knows, of course, that he is a Peak Specimen of masculinity, but maybe he’s a little surprised at her tiny gasp. Because it’s _Poppy,_ the only one who consistently sees through him and the smoke and mirrors that make up at least part of the world’s beloved Ian Grimm.

Still, she lifts her arms as she’s been instructed to, over her head, surprisingly graceful like a ballerina. He can feel the outline of her waist through the tight black mo-cap suit and it takes an impulse control he wasn’t aware he had to avoid tracing the little divot in her hips with his thumbs.

She stumbles a bit on the landing, which just as well could have been him, so he generously offers a “Sorry Pop,” which is becoming kind of standard at this point.

She smiles a little, like she’s been pleasantly surprised, and it makes him want to surprise her more.

“All good,” she reassures in that Aussie accent of hers. “Do we need to get that again?”  
She almost looks disappointed when he says, _no, we got it_ , and proceeds to ~~bolt~~ Power Walk out of the room and away from her and whatever the fuck that was.

**iv.**

The fourth time is on a stage, livestreamed for the entire world.

Everyone is cheering, and it’s Ian’s victory, the White Knight over the Masked Man, and despite all of that when Ian rises from his chair, it’s to _cross the stage and pull Poppy out of hers_ , like she’s the hero of this story, like she deserves credit, and she’s never beamed so brightly in her life.

The spotlights are warm and the crowd is cheering — for _her, Poppy Li_ , not just for Ian or MQ — and she really could live in this moment forever. They’re holding hands tightly, raised in the air like a show of strength, a V for victory, and then he's ducking down to pick her up by the thighs and lift her closer to those brilliant lights.

It’s quite possible she actually shrieks in a surprised joy, and she’ll acknowledge that a lot farther than she’ll acknowledge the startle of wetness in her underwear, possibly from the crowd cheering for her, but more likely from a combination of that and Ian’s warm, massive hands on her thighs.

They spin in a circle, the lights blur, and people are chanting Poppy’s name, and she never wants to  
_holy shit_  
she never wants to leave.

Ian sets her down — “Sorry, Pop, I got caught up in it” — she hugs C.W., highfives Brad, and

reads the text from Dan Williams. _Excited to get out of the madhouse? See you soon.  
_

What has she done?

**v.**

  
The fifth time is in the office that used to be _his_ and is now _theirs_.

He’s lifting Poppy by his hands under her gorgeous thighs, holding her against the wall for support.

Her sensible blue Old Navy panties dangle precariously around her left ankle, and below her, on the column, he can see POPPY MQ 2019 next to IAN MQ 2013, and carved right over DOC + BEANS DQD 96. And this is somehow real life.

He’s lifting her sweater and kissing down her stomach and ribs to make her giggle, and squeezing her thighs a little bit to make her gasp, and she’s got her hands in his hair, her hands cupping his face, and the biggest smile on hers.

Then his face is in her cunt, and he’s never actually eaten pussy before, but he’s Ian Grimm, how hard could it be, if that tester Rachel can do it (and sadly, the whole office now knows of Rachel’s tongue proficiency because tester Dana is _not quiet_ ), he can do it, and he presses a kiss to her thigh and says,

“Tell me what to do, Poppy,” his voice coming surprisingly steady and serious, and she guides him through it with gentle instructions, just like they’re playing Mythic Quest (which they did on the couch a little to the right) and then he does something right because she’s yanking on his hair like he’s a wild stallion and holy shit does he need to write that metaphor down.

Afterwards, when they’re getting dressed, she kisses him on the cheek, looks him dead in the eye with that Poppy Li Stare, and says, “Don’t you _dare_ apologize for that one.”

**Author's Note:**

> wow I did not mean to go into the gay video game show and ship these two but. I do now I guess? so. 
> 
> also as this is pretty unchartered territory I suggest "iPop" for their ship name because 1) it gets the most important part of Eye-an's name, 2) they're both very "I" centric people, 3) Pop is a great canon nickname for her and 4) It sounds like shameless Apple marketing which just fits somehow.
> 
> might turn this into an unconnected series, we'll see, so let me know if you would like to see more or have suggestions!


End file.
